Dual boot Vista 64 and XP

draconis

New Member
HI, can anyone tell me the best way to dual boot XP and Vista 64?
Can't run so many games so have decided to try dual boot.

Current OS is Vista 64 Ultimate

Thanks :)
 

My Computer

Well, your best bet really is to uninstall vista then partition your drive, so you have two partitions. install xp on one and completely finish installing xp with all the latest drivers and updates, then with the other partition you can install vista and do the same with updates and drivers.

Its best to do it this way as vista will take the boot manager, just remeber to wait for the boot loader screen to pop up when booting up, so you can chosses what installation you wish to use.

The main reason for this is because xp is older, its alway best practice, with dual booting, to put the latest os on top of the old one, you can do this vise-versa, but it may bugger up your installation's.


Once you have installed all, google BCDedit, download that and install, as this will tell the computer you two os's and then you can choose between them, with out it, the pc will just boot into vista all the time and uignore xp.

Hope this helps



Edit: install BCDedit under vista, little tip aswell, when you install bcdedit under vista, download the tweaker and install that, that way, if you ever forget to choose xp and it boots into vista, you can then choose xp from the menu that will be installed next to your clock, this will allow you to choose xp and it the pc will restart into xp and you wont have to wait for the bootloader screen as it will automaticallly choose xp as it boots. I do believe doing all what i said under xp (install bcdedit under xp and install the tweaker again, this way you can chop and change between with ease.


If this helps, please tip those little ol' scales.
 
Last edited:

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System One

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    Small Computers / The HAFmeister
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    Intel Core2Quad Extreme QX9650
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    Asus Striker II Extreme 790i Ultra SLI socket 775
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    XFX Geforce 8800 Ultra and EVGA 8800 Ultra 768mb SLI
    Sound Card
    SupremeFX II
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    DELL 720i
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    1280 x 1024 60hz
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    Western Digital Caviar Black 500GB (Windows & Software)
    Western Digital Caviar Black 750GB (Games)
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    Samsung Spinpoint 500GB (Back-up HDD)
    PSU
    Thermal Take Tough-Power 1200w Cable Managment
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    Coolermaster-RC HAF 932
    Cooling
    Asus Silent Square Evo and Coolermaster stock fans.
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    Logitech EX110 Wirless
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    Logitech G9
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    ????
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    SAMSUNG SH-S203D SATA DVD writer
    Edimax 802.1g MIMO Wireless Network adaptor (With Antenie)
    Epson Stylus R800 Photo Printer
    Generic PC controller (Playstation lookie-likey)
    Microsoft Wireless Elite XBOX 360 Controller
    Microsoft Wired XBOX 360 Controller
    Scythe Floppy and Memory Card Drive

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Built
    CPU
    Intel Q9650 w/CM V8 Cooler...
    Motherboard
    EVGA 780i SLI FTW... Latest Bios & Drivers
    Memory
    Corsair Dominator 8GB (4 x 2GB) PC2-8500C5D
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX260
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Def Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 22" LCD Widescreen
    Screen Resolution
    1680 x 1050
    Hard Drives
    WD Velociraptor 160GB
    Samsung Sata 750GB
    Maxtor External 160GB
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling 750w Silencer
    Case
    Thermaltake Speedo Advance
    Cooling
    Air Cooled... See CPU
    Keyboard
    Logitech G15
    Mouse
    Logitech G7
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    Comcast 6MB Broadband
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    Linksys WRT54G router
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